German Leader of “The Left” Praises the Pope

This Reuters story reports that Gregor Gysi, the leader of a small German political party called “The Left” and an ex-communist, has praised Pope Benedict XVI for his teachings that society requires both shared moral norms and rational arguments to function properly. It is not clear from the story whether Mr. Gysi endorsed the specific arguments that the Pope believes can provide this moral anchor. But the story reports that he did say that “cultural traditions, including religion, are resources” for transmitting moral norms.